"Distract me."

Adrenaline still pumping in my veins, I yell, "From what?! Almost killing a man?"

"Yes." Edward's knuckles grip the wheel so tight, I think I can hear it creaking beneath him. "Talk to me. Please."

I'm taken aback by his confession and ask myself who exactly I'm sitting in the car with. However, I recover quickly with the first words that pop into my head. "I still think you're an asshole."

Surprisingly, he laughs and I see his death grip on the steering wheel lighten up. "I guess I deserved that."

"A hell of a lot more, too." I shake my head and try to loosen my muscles as I sit back against the seat. "How did you even do that? You threw him like he was nothing."

I see the muscles in his jaw flex. "You have no idea what they were planning on doing."

"I've got some notion," I mutter. He glances at me for too long and I roll my eyes. "Keep an eye on the road before you kill us, will you?"

He's laughing again and I can only groan under my breath, knowing I'll never find out what it is that's so funny. "Don't worry, it'll take more than a car crash to take me out." He lifts a brow at me and I bite my tongue to keep from slapping him right then and there. Had he forgotten about me? "Are you ever going to tell me how you managed to do that?"

"Do what?" I respond angrily.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Bella."

With a sudden urgency, I ignore him as I search in my bag for my phone.

"What's wrong?" Edward asks as he watches me practically dump the contents on the floor.

Realizing stupidly the thing was in my back pocket the whole time, I pull it out and call Angela.

"Tell me what you're thinking," he urges me.

Scoffing at the irony of it all, I say nothing.

"Bella!"

I sigh in relief when I hear her voice.

"Where are you? You had me worried sick!"

"I'm sorry, Ang. I'll explain everything, I swear. Are you still at Bella Italia?"

She stammers over the line and for a moment I worry I don't have good service. "I already ate. I was really hungry."

Giggling, I say, "Not a problem. Just hang tight and I'll meet you there. Then we'll head home."

"I gotta head home soon, B. My parents will freak if I miss curfew again. I can come get you, where are you?"

I glance at Edward and he smirks when he sees my inner struggle. "Actually, I…" I must pause for too long because Angela has to ask if I'm still on the line. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here. I'm with Edward."

She's silent for a moment and then she asks, "Did you ditch me for Edward Cullen?"

"Of course not!" I glare at Edward now, only to find him silently laughing where he sits in the driver's seat. "It's more complicated than that. I promise I'll tell you everything. Just meet me back home, okay?"

"You better. You owe me. Call me as soon as you're home."

"I will, Ang." I end the call and watch as Edward passes the highway. "Where are you going? Forks is that way."

"You need to eat," he says pulling into the restaurant I should have met Angela at.

"I need to get home," I correct.

Edward gets out of the car and I watch him as he strides over to my side, but before he can open the door, I do it myself and give him a pointed look.

"I'm not an invalid, you know."

He chuckles under his breath and places his hand on my back, between my shoulder blades to follow him. "I never thought you to be."

I welcome his touch and focus hard on the feeling. I'm searching for something. Anything. But there's nothing. Is he blocking me?

When we're inside, we're greeted by hostess, Reagan, as her name badge says. She's fiddling with her dyed red hair when she sees Edward, totally oblivious to her transparency. I roll my eyes, not caring if she notices just as Edward takes his hand back.

"Hi! Welcome to Bella Italia."

Edward smiles his crooked grin at her and I can practically see her melting right there where she stands. "Table for two, please."

It's like she's suddenly aware of my existence. Her blue eyes flicker over to me and I see her face falter as she thinks we must be a couple.

I blush so hard, I have to use the collar of my shirt to fan myself. Reagan regains her composure soon enough and moves out from behind the host stand.

Before she gets too far, Edward subtly places a bill into her palm as he whispers, "Somewhere private, please."

She nods once. "Of course." Then she winks at me. Lucky girl.

I'm so embarrassed, I could crawl under a rock and die, but Edward's hand touches my back again and I'm grateful I don't have to hear anymore of her thoughts.

Reagan seats us at a booth in the back corner of the restaurant and asks us what we'd like to drink.

"Coke is fine," I say.

"The same," Edward responds after giving me a look I don't understand.

I wait until Reagan is back with our drinks to question him. "How did you find me?"

"I was in the area," he says smoothly.

"I know bullshit when I see it." I rip the paper wrapper off of my straw and shove it into my drink.

"As do I." He's smirking at me again and can't find anything to say so I sip my drink instead. I don't realize how thirsty I am and guzzle the whole cup.

Edward offers his drink and I find my cheeks warming again.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Of course," he says as he takes my cup away and replaces it with his. "I saw you."

Lifting a brow, I say, "Saw me what?"

"You asked how I found you," he explains. "I saw you. Through those men."

"I don't understand."

Edward stares at me for a moment and I notice that his eyes are back to their golden brown color. "I can read minds."

Sighing, I put my head in my hands and rub my eyes, feeling the exhaustion of the day take over me. Looking up again, I find Edward sitting there, waiting for me to say something. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Not at all." He leans on his elbows and my breath hitches when he says, "I know you can too."

I don't respond. What am I even supposed to say? I'm afraid that whatever I try to put into words will only prove him right.

"It's alright, Bella." He touches my hand again and I'm amazed that there's still nothing. Not hint as to what he's feeling.

"How can I believe you?"

He nods his head toward the front of the restaurant and I turn around to look. "The man in the tux, sitting with the young girl?" I nod to show that I see them. "He's thinking about sex."

"Of course he is." I pause to throw him an exasperated expression and to my surprise, I find him smirking. "You're going to have to do better than that."

"I mean," he explains, "he's thinking about it right now."

I have to remove my hand from his to be able to hear again. When I do, everything comes back so fast, I have to focus hard on the man to drown the rest of the voices out.

I gotta leave her. We need to do this right. I love this woman so much, I can't wait to feel her—

"Ugh!" I turn away and cup my hands over my ears, but it doesn't help. "You could have warned me." I give up plugging my ears and instead grab Edward's hand again and sigh when the images fade from my mind.

Reagan approaches again, to find us holding hands and I immediately take my hand back and shrink into my seat. Edward eyes me curiously as I blush crimson red.

"Are you two ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?" she asks.

"Bella?"

I order the first thing I see on the menu. Anything to get this girl to leave. "I'll have the mushroom ravioli."

She scribbles onto her notepad. "And for you, sir?"

Edward slides our menus to the end of the table. "Nothing for me, thank you."

Shit, how do I say…

"You have to order something," I hiss hurriedly at Edward. How could he have missed that? Amateur. "Just get the salad if you're not hungry."

With a shrug, he says, "I'll have the salad."

Reagan smiles sheepishly at me before stepping away with our order. When she's disappeared into the kitchen, I place my head in my hands and groan.

"That was so embarrassing." Although through my squished face, I'm not sure it comes out so coherently.

"What?" Edward teases. "You don't like being mistaken for a couple?"

I seriously consider shoving my fork into his eye socket. "No, I don't. Especially not with someone who thinks I'm a freak."

Amusement melting away from his face, he sighs. "Bella, how many times do I need to tell you? You're not a freak."

The silverware begins to clatter in front of me and I force myself to take a breath before speaking. "If you really believed that, you wouldn't have said you didn't want to be friends with me."

He looks down at his hands and once again I wish I knew what he was thinking. "What would you say if I told you I was afraid?" He raises his head again and I can't help but laugh.

"I'd say it's the most honest thing you've told me since we met." Running a hand through my hair, I continue. "Angela's reaction wasn't ideal either. It was a total accident to begin with. I got too comfortable with her, I was responding to things she was asking me before she even said them. She didn't even notice at first, but then she totally freaked. She didn't talk to me again until she found me crying in the bathroom stall." I laugh at the memory but Edward's expression is stoic. "Are you still afraid of me?"

Edward shakes his head. "Of course not. I just have so many questions."

"I'm sure you do."

"How did you change his mind?" he asks.

I give him a quizzical look over my coke. "What are you talking about?"

"The one who grabbed you." He's searching for something in my face. "How did you do it? I could hear his thoughts change."

I'm replaying the scene in my head. The man had grabbed me with such force and as quickly as he'd done it, he let go. And that look on his face was like he was lost. "You're saying I had something to do with that?"

"You don't have the faintest idea of what you're capable of, do you?"

"I don't want to talk about me anymore." I cross my arms and look away from his questioning gaze. "What about you? Can you read my mind?"

"No," he answers. "It's infuriating."

"No kidding," I mutter. "And that guy back there. You pushed him like he weighed nothing." When he doesn't say anything, I press on. "Is it steroids, or something?"

"Something like that."

Rolling my eyes, I say, "That's not an answer. It's not fair, you can't just expect me to lay all my shit on the table and you still won't say anything about you. And your friends. What's up with them? At least tell them to stop staring at me. I hate it."

"They're my family," he corrects. "Adoptive family, anyway. Carlisle and his wife, Esme took us all in."

"Oh." It's all I can say. I could've sworn they were all couples.

"They date, yes." I have to wonder if he's lying about reading my mind. "But it's not what you think."

"Yeah, I get it. You're not technically related." I think back to the time I met Dr. Cullen. "So, why can't I hear any of you? Are you blocking me on purpose?"

"No."

"Then why can't I hear you?" I challenge.

We're interrupted by Reagan dropping off our food. We're quiet as we watch her serve us and only speak to assure her we don't need anything else from her.

"I don't know," Edward finally responds and I stop cutting into my ravioli to glare at him.

"That's crap and you know it."

"I may have a few theories," he elaborates.

"Great," I say around a mouthful of food. "Let's hear them."

He hesitates and I lift a brow, daring him to back out. "Eat your dinner."

"I am. Quit stalling."

Edward plays with the salad in front of him and I decide to go for a different approach.

"How about, I tell you what I know, and you can tell me if I'm right?"

"Fair enough," he says eventually. "Go on."

"You hardly eat, for one." I silently praise myself when I see him happily drop the fork in front of him and push the salad toward me. "You're incredibly strong, and you don't have the temper of someone abusing drugs, so I think I'm striking that off the list."

Edward smiles to himself and I mentally tally another point to myself.

"You know," I start and wait for him to look at me again. "My offer still stands. You can talk to me when you're ready. You'd be surprised by what I can understand."

Edward takes my hand again, and I'm floored by the emotion behind his eyes and the complete and utter silence that comes with his touch. "Thank you, Bella. You have no idea what that means to me."

"You've got to be kidding."

I can't help but laugh and Angela glares at me, mentally telling me to stop moving so she can finish applying the coat of nail polish on my toes. I've caught Angela up entirely on what's happened tonight, save for a few minor details about Edward being telepathic. "It's bat shit crazy, right?"

"Bella!" All finished with the polish, she gently pushes my feet aside. "You're like a superhero!"

"Let's not get carried away," I warn her.

Angela rolls her eyes and grabs my hand and I flinch at the waves of excitement coming off of her. "Make me do something. Hop up and down on one foot...or—or do the chicken dance!"

Snatching my hand back with a bit of annoyance, I say, "I can't do it on command! It just happened, I was scared."

She leans back against the wall of pillows she's got clustered behind her on her bed. "That is so freaking awesome."

I sweep my eyes around the room and smile. She has a small handful of clothes littered on the floor as well as small white string lights hanging around the ceiling. There are pictures of us together as well as her and Ben dangling from the strings. It's not that I'd never seen her room before, but seeing it at night was totally different. With her walls a warm pink color and low music playing in the background, I'm flooded with memories from when we were children. "I can't believe Charlie let me spend the night here. He's like a totally different person."

"I knew he'd come around," she replies casually as she files her nails. "He cares about you."

"I know he does."

"Anyway." She tosses the file back onto her nightstand. "Tell me more about Assward. I mean, Edward."

"Shame on you!" I pick up a small throw pillow that's fallen on the floor and toss it at her playfully. "Animosity does not become you, sunshine. What happened to 'Do unto others what you would have them do to you,' or whatever Yoda crap you were spouting before."

"First of all," she starts with fake aggravation, "you need to watch a movie, before you start referencing it. Second of all, that was Jesus! And thirdly, Assward is getting exactly what he deserves for what he did to my girl."

"Aw," I use her words against her again. "You're smitten."

"Seriously, B. What do you see in this guy? Do you like him or something?"

Her question brings back the images of Reagan's mind as she misconstrued Edward and I for a couple. I feel myself blush all the way up to my ears and groan when Angela's eyes widen. "No!"

"Sweet mother of Brad Pitt! You do! You do like him!"

Ignoring her as she practically jumps up and down on the bed, I scoff incredulously. "Tell me you did not just replace, 'Oh, my God,' with 'Sweet mother of Brad Pitt?!' What are you, twelve?"

She's cackling on her side of the bed and I have to grab her arm to keep her from toppling to the floor. "Aw, B, this is so cute!"

"Would you chill the fuck out please? May as well wake all the neighbors while you're at it."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she gushes.

"There's nothing to tell," I insist. "I don't like him."

"Please," she dismisses. "It's so obvious, I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. Tell me more. What changed your mind?" She's now laying on her abdomen, supporting her head with the heels of her hands and I giggle at her.

"Nothing changed," I say.

"Bull!" She rolls her eyes and lightly taps my thigh. "C'mon, it's just me. Tell me!"

Sighing, I say, "He opened up to me."

Her eyebrows lift to her hairline.

"Only a little," I add. "But enough."

"What did he say?"

I shake my head. "It's not my story to tell." I laugh when she feigns incredulity. "Sorry."

Angela seems to be in deep thought. Luckily for me, I have a hint as to what she's thinking. "Do you trust him?"

Blushing for the millionth time tonight, I say, "I think so."

"Then that's all I need to know," she decides and sits up straight and grabs the bottle of nail polish, "Now, it's my turn."

Jovially snagging the polish from her, I snicker as she wiggles her toes at me. "Sit still! Or you'll have painted knuckles too!"

We stay up until well after midnight that night. It is the first time in years that I remember feeling genuinely happy, despite the nightmarish events that had happened prior. Pondering Renee's words on my birthday, I still have no idea what life lesson I'm meant to learn from Edward Cullen. What I do know, is it is the first time in a very, very, long time that I feel hopeful.